A Mother Should Be
by MelodyWinters
Summary: Just a plot bunny that begged to be written. Eight year old Mikey has been harbouring a certain question. He gets caught writing his thoughts on what a mother should be and has a heart to heart with Splinter.


_A/N: Just another plot bunny waiting to be set loose. This is a turtle tot one-shot. They boys are about, eight? Mikey has been harboring a burning question. Until now._

_I am a mother of two beautiful girls. However, I do have my moments. LOL. I often step back and wonder, with a shake of my head, how on earth could Master Splinter have raised four young boys. Not only did he raise them, but he did it alone. That always amazes me. It is these thoughts that led to the development of this fic._

_Please read on and enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: Nope. Enough said._

**^V^**

_**A Mother Should Be**_

"Give that back, Raphie!" shouted a very upset Michaelangelo.

"You didn't say please!" taunted Raphael, as he dangled a piece of paper high above the younger turtle's head.

"PLEASE give that back!" Mikey desperately exclaimed.

"Hah! Too late!" Raph snickered wearing a teasing smirk. "Whatcha writin' anyway?"

"No! Don't look at it!" Mikey crouched down and sprung upwards, trying to retrieve his paper. Raphael snatched the paper out of his reach. With his free hand, he caught Mikey by the chest and pushed hard.

"Oww!" Mikey cried out as he landed on his backside. He looked up at Raphael who had a firm grasp on the single piece of paper. He walked away from Michaelangelo as he skimmed the contents. Suddenly, he stopped and half turned towards his younger brother. He scratched his head as his eye ridges knitted together.

"Mikey. What is this?" he asked. "What gives?"

Michaelangelo picked himself off the floor and looked up at his older brother.

"It's none of your business." Mikey stood before Raphael, his eyes burned as he silently pleaded with Raphael.

"I don't think you should let Master Splinter read this," Raphael continued, shaking his head. "This may upset him."

"That's why I didn't want you to read it. I didn't want _anyone_ to read it," Mikey argued. "You should not have been spying on me."

"I would rip it up if I were you," Raph pressed. His confusion was turning into annoyance. What was Mikey thinking?

"You're right, Raph! I will. Now just give it back to me. PLEASE!"

"Alright. But you better hide this before Splinter reads it." With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the paper towards Michaelangelo. Mikey clumsily grabbed for it as it fluttered away from his hand to the floor.

"Before I read what?"

Raphael's his amber eyes quickly shifted in the direction of the familiar voice. Splinter was standing in the doorway behind Mikey.

Michaelangelo froze into a crouching position on the floor. His outstretched hand hovered a few inches above the crumpled paper. His stomach knotted as he heard his father's gentle footfall approach him.

"Nothing!" Mikey answered, quickly. "It's nothing."

Splinter raised one furry eyebrow as he examined his youngest son. He knew them all too well to not realize when something was up.

"Michaelangelo?" he patiently asked.

"Busted," Raph whispered.. He had his arms wrapped around the back of his shell as he rocked on his heels. When Splinter turned to him, he issued an impish grin.

"Raphael. Go and sit with the others in the den," Splinter ordered.

"Uh. Okay." Although Raph would have loved to witness Mikey pouring his heart out to their father, he didn't argue. He just bowed quickly before scampering off to watch Scooby Doo with Leo and Don.

Once Raphael had left the room, Splinter turned to Michaelangelo.

"Now, my son. What is going on?" he questioned.

Mikey didn't answer verbally. Instead, he lowered his gaze to the piece of paper that he now wished didn't exist.

Curious as to what possibly could cause such a rift between the two turtles, he bent down and picked up the piece of paper. Michaelangelo's heart began to palpitate at an alarming rate.

_He is going to hate me. I just know it_, Mikey thought. He didn't look up at his surrogate father. His mind played tricks on him. Mikey heard a gasp followed by a grumble of disapproval. In reality, Splinter had done no such things.

The moment he read the first line, everything made sense to the wise rat. As his eyes scanned the poor but legible hand writing, his heart began to swell.

"My son..." he began, but Mikey did not allow him to finish. Michaelangelo found the inner strength to jump to his feet and bolt from the room.

"I'm sorry!" he cried over his shoulder, as he disappeared down the hallway.

Splinter sighed and shook his head. He knew he had to put the orange banded turtle's mind to ease.

Slowly, Splinter exited the room. His keen ears quickly detected the sobs. He followed the sound until it led him to the exercise room. The hallway glow that filtered in past the doorway was the only source of light that touched the large room. It was enough to allow Splinter to discover the tiny figure huddled in the far corner.

"Michaelangelo?' he spoke gently,

Michaelangelo huddled tightly into the corner as if he hoped the darkness would devour him. His arms were wrapped around his knees, drawing them up against his plastron. He had his head lowered miserably against his forearms as he sobbed.

Splinter lit a single candle that was perched on top of the mantle. He then knelt in front of the young turtle.

"My son. I believe you have aroused a matter we should discuss," he said, hoping to spark a conversation. Mikey shook his head, the long orange tail ends of his mask flapped against his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Dad," he sobbed into his arms without looking up. "I didn't mean to write that. It was just for fun. You were not supposed to find it. I hate, Raphael. This is his entire fault."

"Michaelangelo, this is no one's fault. You should not be ashamed." Using the soft glow of the flickering candle, he let his eyes roam the paper until he came upon a detail that he knew he had to clarify. "Do you really think I am unhappy?" When Mikey didn't answer, Splinter leaned over and gently placed a paw on his right arm. Finally, a pair of shiny blue eyes looked up.

Mikey knew there was no way out of this predicament. Taking a beep breath, he nodded.

"Sometimes," he answered, honestly.

Splinter tried to hide the emotion in his face. "And what is the cause for this belief?"

"Well," Mikey began slowly. "There was this one time,I saw you cry . We were all supposed to be in bed asleep. I got up late for a snack. When I walked by your room, I heard you sniffing."

At night when he was alone, sometimes his thoughts and memories got the better of him. Splinter had learned to live in the present. However, past trauma sometimes made living in the present difficult. Unlike the turtles who were mutated from their hatchling form, Splinter was actually human once. He had left a life behind him before he had been transformed into a rodent. Once in a while, he allowed himself to drift back to the days when he had lived in Japan. In those rare moments of reflection, his emotions sometimes got the better of him. Despite missing being human, he still treasured his time raising the turtles. They had filled his life with joy and hope.

Splinter sat back on his heels. "My son, I am very much happy here," he answered, hoping to put his son's mind at ease. "I love you and your brothers very much. You know that."

Mikey slowly nodded his head. "I just _wanted_ you to be happy." His eyes dropped to the paper Splinter was holding. "I thought... that..." His voice trailed off into the darkness.

"Yes?" Splinter pressed.

"Dad. Why don't we have a mother?"he asked innocently.

"Not all families have both parents," Splinter tried to explain simply.

"We need a mommy and a daddy to be a happy family," Mikey piped up.

Splinters eyes widened. "Why would you believe that?"

"On TV," Mikey offered. "All the happy families on there had a mommy _and_ a daddy."

Splinter frowned slightly. How many times is he going to have to explain to the curious minds that television did not hold all the accurate answers of the world?

"Michaelangelo, not everything you see on TV is real," he said.

Mikey bit his lip . "I know. But. Still."

Splinter sighed and shook his head. " However, I am curious. Are _you_ happy, my son?"

Mikey's eyes went huge, as if he was shocked his father would ask such a silly question.

"Yes. I'm happy. You are the best." He flashed his sweet smile.

"And you still long for a mother?"

Mikey shook his head. "No. Well... unless you want one."

Splinter spared him a conversation on how difficult it would be for a giant rat to find true love.

"Maybe one day, the right person will come along. But until then, I will do my best raising you four alone."

"I think you are doing a great job!" Mikey cheered. He suddenly felt silly for writing his list.

Splinter graciously thanked his young ward. Once again, he assured Michaelangelo of the love that he had for them. He emphasized that their family was perfect as it was. Mikey agreed.

"Why don't you go and join the others," Splinter encouraged.

Mikey nodded. He looked up into his father's brown-black eyes.

"I'm sorry for all this," he confessed.

Splinter pulled his son into a warm embrace. "It is all right, my son. I am glad we had this discussion."

"Me too." Mikey bowed to his father before leaving the room.

Splinter remained kneeling. He opened the crumpled piece of paper once more. He scanned over the list that was simply labeled _A Mother Should Be_. He reread Michaelangelo's thoughts.

_**A Mother should be...**_

_**nice **_

_**Has lots of happy stories ( I don't like listening to Raph's scary stories about giant alligators in the sewers)**_

_**some one who loves master Splinter and will make him happy.**_

Down at the bottom of the paper was a side note.

_**But,I still love master Splinter. He is the best rat dude on this planet. A mother would be nice. But I am happy with just a daddy. I am the luckiest turtle alive. ( Even though I have to live with Raph.)**_

Splinter smiled warmly and with pride as he folded the piece of paper and tucked it into the belt of his kimono. He had raised four wonderful children. He was proud of them.

Yes, he had a life before as Hamoto Yoshi. But the turtles were his family now.

In his eyes, he already has a perfect family.

And it was complete.

~The end~


End file.
